Memento Mori
by Indigo X
Summary: (Deleted and reposted due to server proxy errors-author dinginess.) Raven. Tommy. Beulah. Two and a half years of misery, rage, and violence. This is their story.
1. Default Chapter

Memento Mori  
  
A retelling of a legend  
  
By  
  
Indigo X  
  
(Author Notes: This is a bit brazen on my part, trying to tackle a story I've read of but never seen. This is, in my own words, the brutal and somewhat tragic story of Tommy, Raven, and a girl named Beulah. I'm taking vast amounts of creative license, and, like I said, my sources are simply what I've read, so don't go in thinking I'm giving play-by-play of two and a half years. =P I hope you like this. I hope I get it finished. *hee*  
  
Tommy Dreamer, Raven, and Beulah McGillicutty belong to the brilliant peoples who brought them to life. And, in spirit anyway, to the best fed that I never saw. Eee-See-Dub! Eee-See-Dub!)  
  
Once upon a time, two men fought two and a half years. It was a battle over many things, but at its very core, traced all the way to its beginning, it was for the love of a woman... no, no, we need to start before that.  
  
Once upon a time, three young boys, best of friends, got off of a bus. It was their first summer camp together, and... no. We need to start even before that.  
  
It all starts in a hallway. After recess, at a consolidated New York middle school.   
  
Part One:  
  
"...fate, y'know?"  
  
Tommy Dreamer, newly turned thirteen, had just moved to Yonkers from the city of Des Moines. It was about a fourth through the school year, and though he certainly wasn't happy about being uprooted, he managed to take it in stride. Tommy, after all, was an unusually easygoing kid. Ask anybody. The shaggy black haired, brown eyed, and slightly built kid was just that nice. Not many things could really cheese him off.  
  
Of course, once one of those nerves was hit, all bets were off. Tommy could, and did, fight like a rabid bulldog. Gotten more than his share of detentions for it, too.   
  
Little did Tommy know, as he walked the halls that particular Wednesday morning, looking for his classroom, that he would soon encounter something at his new school that would set one of those nerves right off, and it would eventually lead to events that would more or less define his adult life.  
  
"...I said, back off, you bunch of degenerate neanderthals!"  
  
Tommy blinked as he walked around the corner and heard the sharp, big-worded threat, and blinked again when he saw who it was coming from. The boy was scrawny, with a headful of shoulder-length chestnut and gold curls, very dark eyes, dressed in torn jeans and an old t-shirt, a ratty flannel slung around his waist. He was glaring at a group of about three older boys, all twice his size... yet he seemed unafraid. Tommy watched and waited to see what would happen.  
  
What happened was that the three large boys pounced upon the scrawny ragamuffin kid, punching him without mercy... and the kid started laughing.  
  
"Come on..." He spit a wad of blood in the biggest boy's face. "...you had more piss and vinegar in you yesterday, you simian de-evolution!"   
  
Of course, that made the pummeling worse, and though the kid tried to fight back, the assault of the angered bullies was just too much.... and that's when Tommy's sense of schoolyard justice kicked in. Grabbing a mop from a nearby janitor's bucket and jumping into the hallway with a yell, Tommy swung the mop handle- CRACK!- and smacked one after another of the bullies off with it, and kept smacking them until the handle broke over the leader's head with a snap so loud it made everyone in the hallway cringe.  
  
"Now..." Tommy drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't overly tall, but when you've just whipped three bullies' asses with a mop, you don't need to be tall to be intimidating. "...beat it!"  
  
The bullies beat it. Tossing the broken mop aside, Tommy went to check on the bloodied kid, who did something Tommy wasn't expecting.  
  
He glared coldly and smacked Tommy's helping hand away.  
  
"Well, thank YOU, mister hero. I suppose you want me to be tripping over my feet to thank you, huh? Kiss your boots, maybe? Follow you loyally so the big bad bullies won't get me? I've got news for you." Those coal-like eyes seemed to pierce into Tommy's very soul, and they were NOT happy. "I am NOBODY'S flunky. Call me an ingrate, do what you will, but I don't follow in anyone's shadow, so you can take your mister hero act and shove it firmly up your..."  
  
"WHOA!" Tommy backed off, and waved his hands in front of him in an 'easy, there' motion. "Chill out, man. I wasn't going to ask you to do any of those things. I just wanted to see if you were okay."  
  
The kid blinked, seeming a little confused. "That's all?"  
  
"That's all."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Really."  
  
The kid wiped his bloody lip and nose on the sleeve of his flannel (which was bloodstained already, Tommy saw), and stood up, leaning back against the wall. "You... you're new here, aren't you? Why would you be concerned? You don't even know me." Stretching himself out lately, he walked over to a large trash can and stuck his arm in, as if feeling around for something.  
  
Tommy raised an eyebrow at this, but answered plainly. "Yeah, I'm new. No, I don't know you. But so? You were getting creamed. I don't wanna see anybody get creamed who dosen't deserve it."  
  
"Hm. You're a good fella, unless you happen to be lying through your teeth." The kid frowned, and stood on tiptoe to peer into the trash can.  
  
"I'm not. My name's Tommy. Tommy Dreamer. I just moved here."  
  
"Nice. I'm called Raven. Just Raven... oh, come ON, they're gone, you can come out now, you ridiculous little thing!" Reaching way down into the can, Raven finally located what he was looking for, and with a little effort, pulled up another kid by the collar of his shirt, just about as skinny as Raven himself, with blue eyes and a sheepish grin, not to mention a peppering of bruises. Raven sighed and rolled his eyes. "And this is Stevie Richards. I have to look out for him. Nobody else will. Stevie, this is Tommy. He helped me out just now while you were busy cowering in a waste bin."  
  
"Hi!" Stevie waved to Tommy, and then back to Raven with a frown. "I'm sorry, Raven, but they chucked me in there..."  
  
"...and told you to stay down or they'd clobber you." Another sigh, another eyeroll. "Same thing every day. You need a backbone. And we need to get to class, lest the hall pass Gestapo burn us at the stake." Tugging Stevie by the hair in a manner that was somehow rough and playful at the same time, Raven glanced back over his shoulder and nodded once more to Tommy.  
  
Tommy started down the other way, then stopped. "Hey, Raven...!"  
  
Raven turned slightly. "Yes?"  
  
"You wanna meet me after school? We could go to my place and play Super Mario or something."  
  
Raven paused as if thinking this over, then nodded. "Alright. We'll meet right here." A smile split the odd youngster's face, and Tommy had a feeling that this was something rare indeed. "Tommy Dreamer. I have a feeling we were supposed to run into each other today... fate, y'know? I think we're going to be good friends."  
  
"Hope so!" Tommy waved as he headed to class. "See you later!" 


	2. Two

Part Two:  
  
"Swear."  
  
(Quick Author note: Creative liberty in full effect... things may be a little off chronology-wise, but hey, this is how the story came out of my head. And for trivia's sake, the name of the story, 'Memento Mori', is Latin. It translates to 'Remember you will die'.)  
  
Almost true to Raven's prediction about he and Tommy being fated to meet, the two boys became all but inseparable after that. They sat as close together during class as possible, snickering jokes between one another. They sat together at lunch, swapping things they didn't like between themselves and Stevie, who was a loyal third in their little group. And after school, they almost always went straight to Tommy's house to play video games, watch TV, and pig out on junk food. It was as close as the boys- Raven especially- had ever come in their lives to true stereotypical adolescent bliss.  
  
In the hallways, they were untouchable. They fought together, Raven with his tenacity, and Tommy with his strength, and Stevie usually getting tossed into a trash bin early on. And it became clear to all that Raven and Tommy were super-tight, their very presence daring anyone to find a pair of friends more loyal and true to each other.  
  
It was one afternoon, when the three were hanging out in Tommy's room, when Raven got the idea to try something that he'd read in a book once. The three were watching the TV eagerly- wrestling was on. And the boys were huge wrestling fans.  
  
"Yeeeeah!" Tommy cried out as the immortal Hogan took the ring. Dreamer was a full-fledged Hulkamaniac, with a devoutness that made even his friends laugh out loud. "Check it out, man. Hogan's gonna cream this guy. He's the greatest."  
  
"Mmm… he's okay, I guess. A bit overrated in my opinion. Not bad, but he's not my favorite."  
  
Tommy gaped at Raven as if he'd just spoken utter blasphemy. "Okay? Not bad? This is HOGAN, brotherrrrrr. If he's not your favorite, then who the heck is?"  
  
Raven leaned back thoughtfully. "The Undertaker."  
  
"Undertaker? Why?"  
  
"Simple, really." Raven glanced pointedly at Tommy, and grinned. "Everyone else's favorite is Hogan. Since when have I done what everyone else does?"  
  
"Oh, yeah? Well…" Tommy puffed his chest out, and lept to his feet. "…you better get ready to eat those words, Brotherrrrr, 'cuz I'm comin' for ya! Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on youuuu?"  
  
"I'll tell you what I'll do, Hogan." Raven stood up, drawing himself to his full height. "I will take the power of all my Creatures of the Night, and crush you! Bearer, bring me my Urn!"  
  
An awkward pause. Raven glanced pointedly at Stevie, who blinked in confusion. "BEARER… I said bring me my Urn…"  
  
"Oh! Right, right…" Hastily stuffing a pillow into his shirt, Stevie looked around and finally grabbed a coffee can full of loose change off Tommy's dresser, and held it out, speaking in a high-pitched voice. "Ohhhh, Yeeesssssss, Undertaker! Here is your Urn, filled with all the power of… um… Dead Stuuuufffff!"  
  
As Raven reached out for the coffee can, Tommy pounced on him, sending the two boys tumbling onto the bed. And so began the epic battle between Hulk Hogan and the Undertaker, with Paul Bearer cheering them on at ringside while trying to keep his pillow in his shirt. Eventually, the battle spilled off the bed, onto the floor with a great 'THUD', but the two legendary combatants kept fighting, neither giving in, until…  
  
"TOMMY! RAVEN! STEVIE! YOU THREE KEEP IT DOWN UP THERE!"  
  
A lengthy pause… leading to three peals of laughter.  
  
"Oh, man…" Raven took a few deep breaths, then looked at Tommy seriously for a moment. "Tommy, can I talk to you for a minute? Stevie, can you beat it for a bit 'till I'm done talking to Tommy?"  
  
"Okay." Stevie took the pillow out of his shirt and set the coffee can back on Tommy's dresser, and left the room. Tommy looked at his friend curiously.  
  
"What's up, man?"  
  
"Tommy… we're close, you and I, right?"  
  
"Course we are. None tighter than us, you know that."  
  
"Would you be willing to swear by it?"  
  
Tommy blinked. "I'm… not following you here."  
  
"Well… I read this thing, right, about this little ritual that close friends sometimes do. They each prick their fingers with a pin, then touch their bleeding fingers together so the blood mixes, and swear to never betray each other. It's called becoming blood brothers, and… well, I wanted to know if you'd want to try it."  
  
"Hm… that's a little weird, isn't it? Heavy stuff."  
  
"Well, if you don't want to…" Raven shrugged. "Sorry I brought it up."  
  
"Hey, wait a sec. I never said I didn't want to." Tommy smiled. "You're my very best friend, Raven. I wanna make sure it stays that way."  
  
"Okay. Let's see here..." Raven looked around, and eventually spied an old, forgotten Boy Scout pin in a little junk tray. Unflinching, he stabbed his index finger with it, drawing blood. Tommy did likewise, and the two touched fingers solemnly.  
  
"Tommy Dreamer, I swear my eternal friendship and loyalty to you. Should I ever strike out at you in anger, may I one day lose what I hold most dear." Raven looked up at Tommy. "Now your turn. Swear."  
  
"Okay… um, Raven, I swear my eternal friendship and loyalty to you. If I ever spill your blood in anger, may you come from my sworn brother to my sworn enemy."  
  
They put their hands back down at their sides and smiled at each other, the smile of two dear friends and sworn brothers who share a guarded secret. Little did they know that they had just sealed their own fates.  
  
"Hey, Stevie! You can come back in now… and bring some bandaids with you, okay?" 


End file.
